Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/tag/localization/rss.xml
https://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif?cachebust=trueEngadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/tag/localization/rss.xml
en-usEngadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronicsCopyright 2016 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/08/adidas-robot-factory/https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/08/adidas-robot-factory/https://www.engadget.com/2016/06/08/adidas-robot-factory/#comments

Years ago, clothing manufacturers started moving production to developing nations where the labor costs were cheap and employees were plentiful. Proponents of globalization said that jobs going to poorer regions was a great thing, but sportswear firms paying workers pennies to make $100 shirts certainly isn't. But now, the robot revolution is likely to cause a retreat from the days of fashion houses opening sweatshops in far-flung lands. And Adidas, which has often come under fire for its use of unethical labor practices, is leading the charge.

If you're a gamer in China waiting for Diablo III, you have undoubtedly been waiting for a very long time. Given the game's subject matter and the strict censorship policies of the government, it's not a surprise that it's taken a while to get moving. At long last there is a light at the end of the tunnel, however, as distributor Netease has announced that the censorship issues are finally resolved and the game is free to begin technical testing.

The testing phase will begin after the lunar new year is celebrated later this month. While the exact nature of graphical changes has not been disclosed, Netease stresses that the game will still be cool to look at, which could mean... almost anything, really. Still, at this point most of the players who have long waited for the game will just be happy to see it finally available within China.

If you're a Diablo III fan in the US, you've been able to play the game for quite some time, delving into seas of monsters and beating your way through fields of enemies. If you're a Diablo III fan in China, you're anxiously awaiting the game to actually be released locally. So it's good news to hear that Blizzard is working with NetEase to bring the game over to China's shores.

No official release dates or prices have been announced at this time, nor has any information about whether or not this release will include the Reaper of Souls expansion for the game. It seems likely that the release will include all of the upgrades the game has experienced since its 2012 launch, but even that's just speculation. NetEase is the company that has already brought World of Warcraft and StarCraft II to the nation's gaming audience, so it's likely that players can expect the game without too many delays.

For those unaware, Brandish: The Dark Revenant is a modern remake of the Super Nintendo cult hit Brandish, a roleplaying game developed by Falcom. Players star as Ares, a warrior who must battle his way through a multi-tiered, labyrinthine dungeon while being stalked by a sorceress who is as magical as she is half-naked.

Though the title Corpse Party might suggest a dope rave populated entirely by undead club kids, the game is actually a pixelated horror adventure with roleplaying game elements. Players control a hapless group of five people who must band together to survive the supernatural horrors of Heavenly Host Elementary School - an institute of learning where nap time has been replaced by imminent death.

Xseed has yet to determine a release date (or even window) for either Corpse Party or Brandish: The Dark Revenant, though the publisher claims that it will unveil trailers for each at the upcoming E3 conference.

Hi-Rez has teamed up with publisher Level Up to release the MOBA in Central and South America. There are no dates for this release as of yet, but the beta will begin in that region later this year after the localization has been completed. Players from those countries who have accounts on a NA or EU server will be allowed to transfer to Level Up servers at that time.

Teams from Latin America and Brazil have been invited to participate in the SMITE World Championship in January 2015.

The slowest part of bringing in a game from another part of the globe is always the localization, but Tree of Savior has apparently taken care of that ahead of time. The most recent testing session for the game featured an option to switch the game's language between English, Korean, and Japanese, changing both text and dialogue.

It's unclear at this point whether this is going to be an option within the game's client in all regions, but that decision may be left up to regional publishers; all current test servers are located in Korea, since that's where the game is being developed. Still, it's an encouraging sign for those hoping to see the game on American shores sooner rather than later.

Square Enix is mulling over bringing Dragon Quest X overseas, although it's unclear if that includes markets in the West. In today's financial results briefing, the company discussed the Wii, Wii U and PC MMO in a section titled "Expansion of Overseas Businesses, primarily in Asia." However, no regions were specified for Dragon Quest X's possible exportation, and Square Enix has brought recent games in the RPG series to North America and Europe.

As per recent revisions, Square Enix posted an annual net profit of just under 6.6 billion yen ($64.8 million); compare that to the previous year when the company posted more than double that figure, but as a loss. Despite exceeding expectations across the year ending March 31, 2014, Square Enix is forecasting sales and profit performances similar to what it projected last year. For the year ending March 31, 2015, the company expects net sales of around 140 billion to 150 billion yen ($1.37 billion to $1.47 billion), and net profit between 3.5 billion and 6.5 billion yen ($34.3 million and $58.8 million).

Square Enix may have turned loss into a profit this fiscal year, but the Japanese publisher continues to push the reforms it outlined in 2013. In today's statement, the company noted console game markets in the West are dominated by a small number of big-selling games, while smartphone and tablet gaming is "spreading rapidly." This speaks to the changes Square Enix spoke about this time last year, and its response to what it called "weak sales" of AAA console titles in the West. As part of those reforms, Square Enix wants to create a portfolio of games tailored to specific regions, and increase focus on tablets and mobile.

While Phantasy Star Online 2 is unreleased here in North America, the residents of Southeast Asia will soon get to experience the game in English. The servers for this version of the game are region-locked, but it's still as close as the game has gotten to a local release thus far. Curious about how it went? The team working for local publisher Asiasoft shared thoughts regarding the beta experience in a recent interview.

The team states that while the game already has new race/class options available in Japan (as it has been out for some time), releasing these options in the localized version will depend partly on player progress. Tie-in events such as those found in the Japanese version are also nixed, as most of those cross-promotional events are strictly for Japanese marketing and wouldn't make much sense to the audience. For more details, take a look at the full interview.

Vita-owning JRPG fans, no need to eat your heart out: Namco's Tales of Hearts R is coming to the West this winter. The game, which is a remake of Tales of Hearts for the Nintendo DS featuring new content, was originally released in Japan in March of last year. Tales series producer Hideo Baba announced the news in a special video, where he was surrounded by Tales series merchandise. Just in case you weren't sure who he was or what you were watching.

This is particularly good news for fans of the series, since Baba said last year that at the time, there were no plans to bring any of the Tales games for Vita to the West.

While Baba himself offered no other details on the game in the video announcement, Gematsu reports that Tales of Hearts R will be a GameStop exclusive in North America, though players will also be able to download it through the PSN. Only half a year before those of us on western shores get to tell some Tales on the Vita - be still our beating Hearts. R.

Trion Worlds has announced today that the alpha test version of XLGAMES' ArcheAge is now underway. Yes, that sentence was real. No, you don't need to rub your eyes and re-read it; the game is finally in testing after lying dormant for so long that many feared it had been quietly shelved. We're staring down the barrel of more testing and an ultimate release.

You don't believe it? That's fair. Don't take our word for it; take it from the trailer just past the cut that's being used to advertise the start of testing. Admittedly, it isn't showing off in-game footage, but it is in English. Besides, it's cool. The long wait for English ArcheAge fans won't be quite so long now, especially as press (like us) has the testing NDA dropped and can start talking about our experiences in the client.

Here's a question for the audience: Why isn't Phantasy Star Online 2 released in North America yet? The game is fully translated into English, it's going to be released in Southeast Asia in that language very shortly. It's been out in Japan for two years. About a year ago, Sega announced that the game's release in North America would be delayed with no further elaboration; as it stands, the company is still offering no rationale or explanation for the delay.

The most obvious culprit would be legal issues, but Sega hasn't made any statements to indicate that there might be some sort of legal barrier to launching the game here. All that fans know is that the game is still unavailable, despite now having every sign of being ready for launch. So what's holding it back? We haven't the slightest idea.

It's hard out there for an ArcheAge fan in the USA; the game still isn't out here, seems to be getting no closer to release, and is getting an official release in what seems like every other possible country. So one of the biggest ArcheAge fansites is trying to make the localization job for Trion Worlds just a little bit easier by explaining exactly what the game's major issues are, with a specific eye toward its most recent patch.

Essentially, the complaints in the thread focus around the idea that the game continues to reduce the effectiveness of open PvP while adding in far more standard themepark elements, including a heavy reliance on daily quests near the level cap. If you've played the game's Korean version, you can feel free to jump in on the thread and add your own views. No word on how much this will be heard by the localization team, but it's a good snapshot of what the community likes about the game and what could be improved.

Youkai Watch, Level-5's tale of a magical watch that lets its user see spiritual beings, released in Japan last July for the 3DS. Localizing software isn't exactly free though, so we've resigned to just imagining what it's ... wait, Level-5 recently filed a trademark for "Yo-kai Watch" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office? Huh. You can't print out and play trademarks in the 3DS' cartridge slot though, so take this as a potential hint instead of an outright confirmation of a planned Western release.

This isn't the only hint that we've seen recently for localized Level-5 projects - soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven popped up (and has since disappeared) on Nintendo's release calendar for the 3DS earlier this month. The weapons shopkeep simulator Rental Bukiya de Omasse also received a content rating from the Australian Classification Board. Hopefully the next Nintendo Direct brings a slew of Level-5 announcements, similar to the October reveal of plans to localize the Guild 01 series.

You can check out the trademark for yourself by searching for "Yo-kai Watch" with the USPTO's Basic Word Mark Search.

Final Fantasy XIV is going global! Wait, that's not right; it's already global. It's been global. But it's going more global with the addition of a Chinese version. Talks about bringing the game to China took place around the time of its initial launch, but with the relaunch in full swing, it looks like the long wait is almost over.

Shanda Games has updated its official site for the game with more information regarding the first beta testing phase as well as upcoming events that will allow potential players to win a testing key. What the actual business model will be for the game's Chinese client remains to be seen, although based on most other localizations for the Chinese market, a free-to-play model of some sort seems likely.

Marcus Lindblom, the man responsible for translating most of SNES cult classic Earthbound's script to English, has natural insight on why some elements of the North American release are the way they are. After Nintendo rereleased the RPG on the Wii U Virtual Console last year, Lindblom told Polygon he was asked by fans whether he would ever consider putting his knowledge in writing.

Lindblom planned to do just that once he gathered production costs for the book on Kickstarter, but when he tried to clear the project with Nintendo, the developer was not in favor of the idea. While Lindblom was not told exactly why Nintendo did not want the book published, he was reminded that he had signed a non-disclosure agreement during his work on Earthbound.

"I wanted to just write about the fun bits in the game that I think the fans would enjoy," Lindblom told Polygon, stressing there are no hard feelings. "But I have no desire to rock the boat with Nintendo at all ... They gave me my start in the game business."

As interesting as it would be to read the full story of Earthbound's localization, it's tough to feign surprise toward Nintendo being uninterested inthe project. The series' SNES debut did bomb on a commercial level, and its GBA follow-up, Mother 3, is only playable in English thanks to a fan effort. Nintendo doesn't exactly have a reputation for being open about its internal operations, either. Still, with Ness swinging for kneecaps for the entirety of the Super Smash Bros. series and Lucas joining the roster in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we can't blame Earthbound fans for wanting to learn more about the series.

No matter how dedicated you might be to the idea of ArcheAge, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was never coming out in the US. But there is something worth looking forward to on the horizon after all. The game's English client is apparently now in Friends & Family testing over at Trion Worlds, which means progress is being made.

The game still does not have any sort of official date for wider-scale testing, much less release. Trion states that the UI is about 80% translated, with most of the base quest text having received a first pass. So it's not perfect news, but it at least means that the localization process hasn't completely stalled out.

Are you eagerly anticipating a release of Black Desert in the west despite the lack of an official publisher or anything similar? There's good news to be had if you're one of the hopeful. Apparently an English client is being worked on by developer Pearl Abyss, reinforcing earlier statements by the company that success and release in the US is very important to the game's long-term viability.

The preview screenshots for this client still aren't complete, but it's clear that the game is taking some serious steps towards localization for a non-Korean audience. A global simultaneous launch is unlikely, of course, but if the client is already localized that clears a major hurdle for the game's release prospects. It's not a deal with an existing publisher, but lately that may not have been so reassuring to fans after all.

Well, there's good news and bad news with regard to ArcheAge's western release. And I know you, you want the bad news first, right? Well, here it is: the game's still quite a ways off. Trion hasn't said as much, but if you read between the lines of CEO Scott Hartsman's latest interview, it's hard to come away with any other impression.

Hartsman spoke with fansite ArcheAge Source, and he said that "XL can only work on so many things at a time while they strive to constantly improve their live Korean service." This means that ArcheAge's partnered launches outside of Korea are worked on "serially," and the western release is a couple of spots down in the pecking order. The one piece of good news there is that the western release will benefit from all of the stuff XL has learned from launching the game in other markets.

Hartsman also mentions substantial progression and economy improvements that will find their way into the sandpark game before it reaches western shores. "The economic game of ArcheAge is a big part of what attracted a lot of us to this game," he said. "XL will be implementing improved balance between crafting, farming, and trade, [with] the goal being to promote a more vibrant economic game that produces more valuable and more frequently used items than what the original version launched with."

The last rift has closed for Russia's version of RIFT. An announcement has been sent to the players of the game that (roughly translated) claims that the game will have to be shut down due to Trion Worlds' refusal to continue supporting the localized version. That shutdown will happen... well, today. So if you play on the game's Russian servers, we really hope you didn't have any major plans for the evening.

Belver Online, the company responsible for the localized version, is offering former players compensation in the other online games it operates. Russia's version of RIFT had continued to operate on a subscription-based model for several months, with several Russian players migrating to Trion's European servers out of a desire to play the game's free version. There are no plans for Trion to produce a Russian-localized client of its own. Our condolences to players affected by the shutdown.

We, too, are saddened by the shut down of RIFT in Russia, which was announced in September. In trying to effect the smoothest transition possible, we kept the service running well beyond the October 10th sunset period to make sure as many customers as possible would be taken care of.

When a partner began charging its users nearly $100 each in unauthorized "transfer fees" as well as subscriptions that extended beyond the time they knew the servers were going to be closed, we can confirm that we did have to end the extended sunset period.

We've successfully transferred over thousands of Russian players and will continue to help any others who want to continue playing on the Trion servers. Anyone who was previously on a Russian server and was impacted by this shutdown can reach out to our customer service team and we will assist in any way we can to get them in back into RIFT as quickly as possible.

New classes are kind of a big deal, especially as a game goes for a longer time without adding new ones. The longer the gap between new classes, the more time players have to get used to the existing balance and get thrown off by a new addition. So Forsaken World's new class is going to shake up the game's structure pretty thoroughly, as the game has had the same core lineup since it first launched.

The new class is dubbed Blood Reaper (possibly not the final translated name) and focuses upon crowd-control. It's exclusive to the Lycan race and appears to be part of the game's next major expansion, which will also increase the game's level cap to 90. Given Perfect World Entertainment's track record, it shouldn't be a significant delay before Western players can begin exploring this new addition to the game.
]]>
classclass-mechanicsclassesexpansionexpansionsf2pfantasyforsaken-worldfree-to-playlocalizationnew-classesnews itemspatchpatchesperfect-worldperfect-world-entertainmentpreviewpreviewspwetranslationupdateMon, 21 Oct 2013 14:00:00 -0400319|20750474https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/10/09/dragon-nest-europe-gets-an-academic-update/https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/10/09/dragon-nest-europe-gets-an-academic-update/https://massively.joystiq.com/2013/10/09/dragon-nest-europe-gets-an-academic-update/#comments

Games have some strange ideas about what certain professions entail at times. You've probably known a lot of academics in your life, and few if any of them carry enormous guns and hit things with wrenches. But the Academic class in Dragon Nest does precisely that. This new class has just been added to the game's European version, patched in alongside a major localization update that allows the game to be played in full German or French versions.

Assuming you speak neither of those languages, the big update is the new class. Academics can damage dealers or healers, with a specialization coming at level 15; Alchemists focus on support while Engineers deal out exceptional amounts of damage. The class also features a choice between cannons and bubble guns for damage, with the former hitting hard but slowly while the latter is quick but weak. It should be an interesting addition for EU players, although it still raises the question of what's so academic about shooting people.

Mobile RPG Final Fantasy Agito will be localized, Square Enix recently revealed. Speaking with USGamer at the Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix's Hajime Tabata said the game "will definitely be localized." He quickly clarified that while the game will be translated to other languages, that doesn't guarantee its release in North America. A trademark for Final Fantasy Agito was recently filed in Europe, so some hope for a full localization exists.

Final Fantasy Agito will launch as a free-to-play iOS and Android game in Japan this Winter. The game is set in the world realized by Final Fantasy Type-0, a Japan-exclusive PSP game, and offers equipment obtained via microtransactions.

The Xbox One launch was delayed to 2014 in eight territories – Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland – but it wasn't because of a "volume issue," Microsoft Senior Director of Product Management and Planning Albert Penello told OXM. The delay came down to localization with the new Kinect, the site reported.

"People assume there's a volume issue which in fact there isn't," Penello said. "You're actually seeing pre-orders pop back up now because we're able allocate the countries' volumes back in. It's there; the problem is localization. And once people see the system and how integral it is – it's not just text integration."

The new Kinect doesn't work like the Xbox 360 Kinect, and its new features make localization more difficult, Penello said.

"I think people are using the way [voice] works on Xbox 360, which was an accessory we built five years after release, as how it's going to work here," he said. "But it's so much more elegant and so much more integrated, and in many ways it's a lot faster and more convenient, whereas on Xbox 360 it's a lesser version of doing the thing you're used to doing on your controller."

The Xbox One will launch as scheduled this November in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the UK, the US and New Zealand.

Nichols reported that the team is tackling several hurdles, including connecting the game to Trion's billing system, setting up the server architecture, and translating over a million words for those of us that don't speak Korean. He said that players should expect any changes to the Korean version to be "very minimal," so players shouldn't expect huge new features or differences.

He urged patience for those looking to beta test ArcheAge: "We're just as excited to get to the point where we can invite external testers, but expect the closed testing period to last at least a few months."